8 out of 10 is fair imo.Innovative or not or w/e other negatives that may arise from the game fact is it is still better than any other mmo that has came out since WoW.
I think the real innovation is the onging class story line and the ability of your own character to talk in their own voice with NPCs. I felt I was a real character and had an identity. I was skeptical that this was going to work, but it did I really felt like I was a character in the game, and had choices to a decent extent. Unlike WoW, in which I was a generic toon who goes from hub to hub doing minor quests for random people. I felt there was a purpose other than just leveling and getting better gear in the Old Republic. I tried several classes and found this to be especially true of the Bounty Hunter -- which also had pretty fun gameplay.
I wouldn't really classify 100% VO as innovative. It's not like people never applied VO to an MMORPG before...it's just higher production values. It would be like saying "really good graphics" are innovative.
The item mods are probably innovative, as well as the 0 load instancing though.
Not to mention there are other mmos that are very voice over heavy, so going from lets say..95% to 100% isnt really an innovation, its more a (argueble) improvement. Combining them in cutscenes is cleaver but again its a argueble improvement.
Same as 0second instancing (mind you it sometimes takes 2-5seconds for the mobs in the instance to actually spawn), its a improvement.
And the mods.. other then the cosmetic changes (which to some degree has been done before) its awfully close to the overly known item gem systems , just with more slots, more restrictions and less options.
Actually, most of the upper end loot gets ALL of its bonuses from the mods, with 3-4 slots. From what I recall of Gem socketing, it's alot different. For one, it only accounts for about 25-30% of an items properties.
To give you an idea, the slot mod system is how they plan to implement a cosmetic system. If you find armor or a weapon that you like the look of, you can keep slotting it up as you level.
What other MMO's are VO heavy? If you're talking about AoC, most of the VO is gone after Tortage.
I wouldn't really classify 100% VO as innovative. It's not like people never applied VO to an MMORPG before...it's just higher production values. It would be like saying "really good graphics" are innovative.
The item mods are probably innovative, as well as the 0 load instancing though.
Not to mention there are other mmos that are very voice over heavy, so going from lets say..95% to 100% isnt really an innovation, its more a (argueble) improvement. Combining them in cutscenes is cleaver but again its a argueble improvement.
Same as 0second instancing (mind you it sometimes takes 2-5seconds for the mobs in the instance to actually spawn), its a improvement.
And the mods.. other then the cosmetic changes (which to some degree has been done before) its awfully close to the overly known item gem systems , just with more slots, more restrictions and less options.
Actually, most of the upper end loot gets ALL of its bonuses from the mods, with 3-4 slots. From what I recall of Gem socketing, it's alot different. For one, it only accounts for about 25-30% of an items properties.
To give you an idea, the slot mod system is how they plan to implement a cosmetic system. If you find armor or a weapon that you like the look of, you can keep slotting it up as you level.
What other MMO's are VO heavy? If you're talking about AoC, most of the VO is gone after Tortage.
First coming to mind.. Dcuo.
The mods are really not all that much different then gem systems, its not new to get multiple stats from 1 gem, though in most games with a gem system they dont really restrict a gem to fit in a specivic slot. The amounth of the actual enhancement may be higher then in most games but its still not new.
Look at Aoc crafter gear, the older crafted armor got their stats entirely from the gems. Havent played that in ages so IM not 100% sure of the state of how the stats fit in from gems right now. I do recall the revamped system actually enforcing specivic types of gems to be actual restricted to certain slots.
Heck there even is a more.. primative version, though the enhancement in that game didnt come with cosmetic changes. Just think of.. Cultural armor in Everquest (1).
The whole point of the modification system is not to change the appearance, it's so you can KEEP your appearance as you level. If a mod changed the appearance that would defeat the whole system.
As for the comment of a game being fun not being the point? What. World. Do. You. Live. On?
The /entire/ point of a game is to have fun. It is /entertainment/. That's it's frikken /job/.
In the end the ONLY thing that matters is 'Am I having enough fun while playing this game to justify the cost?' if the answer is Yes then the game succeeded. Period.
TOR isn't the 2nd coming, but it /is/ a good game. It is fun, engaging, and well animated. The beta has a large chunk of debugging software plugged into it that makes it hard on CPU's, it has areas of the game that don't access the GPU at /all/ (My 480 gtx should never hit 55C while playing a game for example) but they get fixed. The game will be optimized and when the debugging software is removed it'll be smoother and even more enjoyable.
The game does have some flaws, and I think an 8 out of 10 is pretty accurate, but seriously people need to stop with the WoW with lightsabers BS. How much of a Shamans, rogues, or warriors damage is Autoattack for example.
Also, people who think positioning isn't important in TOR, LOL. High end there are bosses where position is /everything/ as is the tactics used while fighting the boss and these are just quest bosses, not even 'raids'.
In the end, haters gonna hate. Make up your own mind about it.
P.S. It's not a popularity contest. If you don't like the game, great, that's your opinion. Quit with all this inane need to try and bring it down for /everyone/ just because you don't like it. Enjoy your game, we'll enjoy ours. Without you.
I TOTALLY disagree with the scores on Longevity and Polish.
Longevity: The game offers just as much (and more in many cases) as any MMO out there. Much more than Lord of the Rings offers (which only has one faction and weak PVP) and that game is still going strong for several years.
Polish: Comon. I have beta tested at least 8 MMOs and this was at the top of the list as far as how prepared they are for launch both from a bug perspective and a techical perspective. Is it perfect, no. However, when I compare against where similar games were at the same time before release, your score is a little on the low side.
Actually, most of the upper end loot gets ALL of its bonuses from the mods, with 3-4 slots. From what I recall of Gem socketing, it's alot different. For one, it only accounts for about 25-30% of an items properties.
To give you an idea, the slot mod system is how they plan to implement a cosmetic system. If you find armor or a weapon that you like the look of, you can keep slotting it up as you level.
What other MMO's are VO heavy? If you're talking about AoC, most of the VO is gone after Tortage.
First coming to mind.. Dcuo.
The mods are really not all that much different then gem systems, its not new to get multiple stats from 1 gem, though in most games with a gem system they dont really restrict a gem to fit in a specivic slot. The amounth of the actual enhancement may be higher then in most games but its still not new.
Look at Aoc crafter gear, the older crafted armor got their stats entirely from the gems. Havent played that in ages so IM not 100% sure of the state of how the stats fit in from gems right now. I do recall the revamped system actually enforcing specivic types of gems to be actual restricted to certain slots.
Heck there even is a more.. primative version, though the enhancement in that game didnt come with cosmetic changes. Just think of.. Cultural armor in Everquest (1).
DCUO qualifies technically, but it's nowhere NEAR the scale of TOR. Comparing the two is a HUGE stretch. 40 hours of content compared to hundreds of hours? A paragraph blurb compared to an entire conversation where your character also has a voice AND a choice? C'mon...
It's been a while since I played AoC, but I don't recall gems making up the whole of the weapon's stats. I know for certain that they didn't change the armor rating or DPS of the item. Like most MMO's, it was designed to give an advantage for those people who take the time/effort/resources to slot out an item, but the item will become obsolete sooner or later.
SWTOR does not, at least in its current state. I've been using the same weapon for about 10 levels now, updating the mods as I go, and I haven't yet seen a higher damage item show up in auction, or as a quest reward.
Actually, most of the upper end loot gets ALL of its bonuses from the mods, with 3-4 slots. From what I recall of Gem socketing, it's alot different. For one, it only accounts for about 25-30% of an items properties.
To give you an idea, the slot mod system is how they plan to implement a cosmetic system. If you find armor or a weapon that you like the look of, you can keep slotting it up as you level.
What other MMO's are VO heavy? If you're talking about AoC, most of the VO is gone after Tortage.
First coming to mind.. Dcuo.
The mods are really not all that much different then gem systems, its not new to get multiple stats from 1 gem, though in most games with a gem system they dont really restrict a gem to fit in a specivic slot. The amounth of the actual enhancement may be higher then in most games but its still not new.
Look at Aoc crafter gear, the older crafted armor got their stats entirely from the gems. Havent played that in ages so IM not 100% sure of the state of how the stats fit in from gems right now. I do recall the revamped system actually enforcing specivic types of gems to be actual restricted to certain slots.
Heck there even is a more.. primative version, though the enhancement in that game didnt come with cosmetic changes. Just think of.. Cultural armor in Everquest (1).
DCUO qualifies technically, but it's nowhere NEAR the scale of TOR. Comparing the two is a HUGE stretch. 40 hours of content compared to hundreds of hours? A paragraph blurb compared to an entire conversation where your character also has a voice AND a choice? C'mon...
It's been a while since I played AoC, but I don't recall gems making up the whole of the weapon's stats. I know for certain that they didn't change the armor rating or DPS of the item. Like most MMO's, it was designed to give an advantage for those people who take the time/effort/resources to slot out an item, but the item will become obsolete sooner or later.
SWTOR does not, at least in its current state. I've been using the same weapon for about 10 levels now, updating the mods as I go, and I haven't yet seen a higher damage item show up in auction, or as a quest reward.
The size of a mmo is irrelevant, Dcuo does full voice overs, but you are right, they didnt go for cutscenes giving your own character his own voice, but then again thats more an improvement then actual innovation. Infact.. Linage2 gave characters their own voices, granted it was only to chant their spells but still. But 40hours of game play? You never really played Dcuo did you. That and.. it took me roughly 8 hours on SwToR to get to 30, that would leave me 32 hours for the remaining 20 levels, if we go by your 40 hour.. Dcuo impression.
Actually when the gem system was added to Aoc the gems did increase straight up damage, there where gems to add (picking a excample) 2h blund damage. The crafted weapons came with their dmg/dps and some hp, the gems added where entirely how the stats where added. Same principle for crafted armor, Base armor and hp, though I dont recall staight up armor on gems but you where able to gem specivic resistance to lets say.. slash damage for instance not to mention gems that have a chance proc armor or resistance. So again, while its NOT identical, it is pretty obvious the mod system is another gem-like system. Instead of having a red gem , you have a reflex barrel to pick a excample.
You are right about weapons, although I did pick up a few drops that would have been minor improvements on my current weapon except.. the wrong type of weapon. I was armstech so my perseption on weapons isnt entirely the same as everyone else but yeah.. there is a big gap betwine weapons, not a huge deal but its always fun to get a new looking weapon from time to time.
But dont get me wrong, its prefectly fine that alot of things arent new, the way things are implimented IS nicely done and in most cases, fun. But truth to be said, the way they improved and combined idea's and concepts from the past IS unique and definately a worth mentioning innovation.
I think this is a pretty fair review of the game. I enjoyed the beta weekend it was fun but other then the story it wasnt very deep or very innovative. Ill play the game at alunch for sure just to play through a few of the stories then most likely quit and go back to eve until gw2 launches.
I find your your "review" to be rational unbiased and thoughtfull. I would however have to disagree on your overall score because you are reviewing a "beta". It is impossible to review graphics and animations unless you are experiancing the release build.
If you are reviewing it compared to other beta's from other games, I believe your score is fair with pretty much every other game scoring under SWTOR.
Comments
8 out of 10 is fair imo.Innovative or not or w/e other negatives that may arise from the game fact is it is still better than any other mmo that has came out since WoW.
While SWTOR is not my cup of tea, the game is simply F A B U L O U S.
There is no way around it and big KUDOS to BioWare and EA.
I think the real innovation is the onging class story line and the ability of your own character to talk in their own voice with NPCs. I felt I was a real character and had an identity. I was skeptical that this was going to work, but it did I really felt like I was a character in the game, and had choices to a decent extent. Unlike WoW, in which I was a generic toon who goes from hub to hub doing minor quests for random people. I felt there was a purpose other than just leveling and getting better gear in the Old Republic. I tried several classes and found this to be especially true of the Bounty Hunter -- which also had pretty fun gameplay.
Actually, most of the upper end loot gets ALL of its bonuses from the mods, with 3-4 slots. From what I recall of Gem socketing, it's alot different. For one, it only accounts for about 25-30% of an items properties.
To give you an idea, the slot mod system is how they plan to implement a cosmetic system. If you find armor or a weapon that you like the look of, you can keep slotting it up as you level.
What other MMO's are VO heavy? If you're talking about AoC, most of the VO is gone after Tortage.
First coming to mind.. Dcuo.
The mods are really not all that much different then gem systems, its not new to get multiple stats from 1 gem, though in most games with a gem system they dont really restrict a gem to fit in a specivic slot. The amounth of the actual enhancement may be higher then in most games but its still not new.
Look at Aoc crafter gear, the older crafted armor got their stats entirely from the gems. Havent played that in ages so IM not 100% sure of the state of how the stats fit in from gems right now. I do recall the revamped system actually enforcing specivic types of gems to be actual restricted to certain slots.
Heck there even is a more.. primative version, though the enhancement in that game didnt come with cosmetic changes. Just think of.. Cultural armor in Everquest (1).
The whole point of the modification system is not to change the appearance, it's so you can KEEP your appearance as you level. If a mod changed the appearance that would defeat the whole system.
As for the comment of a game being fun not being the point? What. World. Do. You. Live. On?
The /entire/ point of a game is to have fun. It is /entertainment/. That's it's frikken /job/.
In the end the ONLY thing that matters is 'Am I having enough fun while playing this game to justify the cost?' if the answer is Yes then the game succeeded. Period.
TOR isn't the 2nd coming, but it /is/ a good game. It is fun, engaging, and well animated. The beta has a large chunk of debugging software plugged into it that makes it hard on CPU's, it has areas of the game that don't access the GPU at /all/ (My 480 gtx should never hit 55C while playing a game for example) but they get fixed. The game will be optimized and when the debugging software is removed it'll be smoother and even more enjoyable.
The game does have some flaws, and I think an 8 out of 10 is pretty accurate, but seriously people need to stop with the WoW with lightsabers BS. How much of a Shamans, rogues, or warriors damage is Autoattack for example.
Also, people who think positioning isn't important in TOR, LOL. High end there are bosses where position is /everything/ as is the tactics used while fighting the boss and these are just quest bosses, not even 'raids'.
In the end, haters gonna hate. Make up your own mind about it.
P.S. It's not a popularity contest. If you don't like the game, great, that's your opinion. Quit with all this inane need to try and bring it down for /everyone/ just because you don't like it. Enjoy your game, we'll enjoy ours. Without you.
How can you a review a game that hasn't been released i don't even know why poish is in you're review it's beta lol.
I TOTALLY disagree with the scores on Longevity and Polish.
Longevity: The game offers just as much (and more in many cases) as any MMO out there. Much more than Lord of the Rings offers (which only has one faction and weak PVP) and that game is still going strong for several years.
Polish: Comon. I have beta tested at least 8 MMOs and this was at the top of the list as far as how prepared they are for launch both from a bug perspective and a techical perspective. Is it perfect, no. However, when I compare against where similar games were at the same time before release, your score is a little on the low side.
Regardless, it was a good read so thanks!
There Is Always Hope!
DCUO qualifies technically, but it's nowhere NEAR the scale of TOR. Comparing the two is a HUGE stretch. 40 hours of content compared to hundreds of hours? A paragraph blurb compared to an entire conversation where your character also has a voice AND a choice? C'mon...
It's been a while since I played AoC, but I don't recall gems making up the whole of the weapon's stats. I know for certain that they didn't change the armor rating or DPS of the item. Like most MMO's, it was designed to give an advantage for those people who take the time/effort/resources to slot out an item, but the item will become obsolete sooner or later.
SWTOR does not, at least in its current state. I've been using the same weapon for about 10 levels now, updating the mods as I go, and I haven't yet seen a higher damage item show up in auction, or as a quest reward.
The game people played last weekend is the same game we'll see released in under a month...
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
The size of a mmo is irrelevant, Dcuo does full voice overs, but you are right, they didnt go for cutscenes giving your own character his own voice, but then again thats more an improvement then actual innovation. Infact.. Linage2 gave characters their own voices, granted it was only to chant their spells but still. But 40hours of game play? You never really played Dcuo did you. That and.. it took me roughly 8 hours on SwToR to get to 30, that would leave me 32 hours for the remaining 20 levels, if we go by your 40 hour.. Dcuo impression.
Actually when the gem system was added to Aoc the gems did increase straight up damage, there where gems to add (picking a excample) 2h blund damage. The crafted weapons came with their dmg/dps and some hp, the gems added where entirely how the stats where added. Same principle for crafted armor, Base armor and hp, though I dont recall staight up armor on gems but you where able to gem specivic resistance to lets say.. slash damage for instance not to mention gems that have a chance proc armor or resistance. So again, while its NOT identical, it is pretty obvious the mod system is another gem-like system. Instead of having a red gem , you have a reflex barrel to pick a excample.
You are right about weapons, although I did pick up a few drops that would have been minor improvements on my current weapon except.. the wrong type of weapon. I was armstech so my perseption on weapons isnt entirely the same as everyone else but yeah.. there is a big gap betwine weapons, not a huge deal but its always fun to get a new looking weapon from time to time.
But dont get me wrong, its prefectly fine that alot of things arent new, the way things are implimented IS nicely done and in most cases, fun. But truth to be said, the way they improved and combined idea's and concepts from the past IS unique and definately a worth mentioning innovation.
I think this is a pretty fair review of the game. I enjoyed the beta weekend it was fun but other then the story it wasnt very deep or very innovative. Ill play the game at alunch for sure just to play through a few of the stories then most likely quit and go back to eve until gw2 launches.
I find your your "review" to be rational unbiased and thoughtfull. I would however have to disagree on your overall score because you are reviewing a "beta". It is impossible to review graphics and animations unless you are experiancing the release build.
If you are reviewing it compared to other beta's from other games, I believe your score is fair with pretty much every other game scoring under SWTOR.
"Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee